Project information

End violence against women and girls in Ethiopia

With our local partners we'll reduce violence against women, including FGM and forced marriage, in Ethiopia, where such practices are widespread. Our partners will provide emergency care, shelter and support for women survivors to rebuild their lives and they will work with communities to change a

Charity information: Womankind Worldwide

Need

In Ethiopia violence against women and girls and harmful practices, such as FGM, are widespread. 49% of women experience physical violence and 59% sexual violence from a partner at least once in their lifetime. Three quarters of women between 15-49 years have undergone FGM and nearly 8% of married women were forcibly abducted into marriage. Women and girls have little or no support to help them overcome the consequences of this violence and women are usually dependent on th

Solution

So women can live free from violence they need to know their rights, have support systems in place and have an income of their own. Our partner AWSAD provides emergency shelter, medical care, counselling and legal support, as well as literacy and skills classes. Our partner Siiqqee raises awareness of women’s rights through community conversations and self-help groups, which also provide opportunities for small loans and savings clubs and skills and literacy training to enable the women

50 women are provided for in the safe house for one year (food, medical care and personal items). 50 women in the safe house receive skills training. 30 self help groups set up.

Aim 2

Women have increased support from the community, which will work to prevent violence and take act.

Activities

» Train community leaders, students and teachers on violence against women and how to act if they/someone they know experiences violence. » Train police officers on how to support women who have experienced violence. » Run community awareness sessions with men and women.

Impact

1.Continued reduction of violence against women and girls in the communities targeted. Our partners will measure this through reporting the number of cases brought to local leaders/police and interviews with women.
2.Sustained change in attitudes towards violence against women and harmful practices. This will be measured through community interviews.
3.The women are supported and continue to be economically self-sufficient. The aim of the self-help groups is for them to become self-sustaini

Risk

As more women become aware of their rights the AWSAD safe house may see a rise in the number of women needing to stay. In order to support all the women who need help AWSAD will work with other organisations to provide services, e.g. Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, health centres, the police and women’s affairs offices.

Reporting

Donors to the project will receive an annual email report on the progress and activities of the project. We aim to include case study information on some of the women who have been helped by the project.

Current Funding / Pledges

Location

Despite achieving high economic growth in recent years, progress in Ethiopia is fragmented and women and girls are commonly discriminated against. They bear the brunt of poverty and gender inequality, in a society with some discriminatory traditional values. Despite the Ethiopian government raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years and criminalising violence against women and girls, they still have limited protection because discriminatory traditional practices entre

Beneficiaries

Women and girls who have experienced violence will be supported to rebuild their lives, gain skills and confidence and live free from violence in the future.

All women and girls in the communities targeted will be at reduced risk of violence and harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

Why Us?

We have 26 years of experience, supporting effective, locally-run projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. You can be confident that your support will be contributing to work that is enabling women to achieve real change in their lives. For example, in the district of Kembatta in Ethiopia, where we have worked for 12 years with our local partner KMG, female genital mutilation has been reduced dramatically from 97% to just 4%.